16.003-16.004  Unified Engineering III, IV

Dear Unified Students:

As you may have seen in the recent email from Professor Darmofal, Robin Palazzolo will be moving to the Office of the Dean of Engineering.  Robin has done a tremendous job in her role as the Course Administrator for Unified and we thank her for all her excellent work in that regard and wish her the best in her new role at the Institute.

We are very fortunate to have Jean Sofronas stepping in to become Course Administrator.  This is never an easy transition, and is compounded with our just changing Course Coordinator and the intensity of the beginning of the term.  Nevertheless, I am very reassured with Jean stepping into this role and you should be as well.  Just as we announced in the change of Course Coordinator, our intent is that this have minimal effect on you.  The Course Administrator does much to be sure that the course functions properly, but most of this you do not see.  There are basically three occasions where you may need to interact with Jean.  One, she will be picking up turned-in assignments.  However, you basically just need to put your assignments into the appropriate bins as before, so there likely will be little interaction here.  Two, exams that are not picked up by students when handed back by faculty in class will now reside with Jean and you can get them from her.  Three, any "re-grade requests" will need to go through Jean.  Thus, you may have the need to visit Jean in her office or to contact her.  The specifics there are:

Jean Sofronas
Room 37-461
Phone:  617-258-5548
Email::  jeans@mit.edu

Please also note that this office is not open throughout the day, unlike Department Headquarters where Robin sat.  There are therefore reduced hours where you will be able to find Jean.  These generally are: 9-2.  You can also make arrangements via email or phone if you need to get to a particular item.

This should move forward quite well and, as indicated, you as students should not see any real changes.  If there are issues or concerns, do not hesitate to bring them to my attention.

                    - best,
                     Paul Lagace
                     Course Coordinator

Dear Unified Students:

As Professor Darmofal discussed briefly in class last week, the appointment of Professor Waitz as Dean of Engineering is having a number of effects on our department. One of these is that Professor Darmofal is stepping in as Interim Department Head (and the department is quite lucky to have him doing this).  That does mean that he must step away from his commitments to Unified Engineering.  This email indicates the changes to the operation of Unified because of this change.  The only changes deal with Section 3.1 of the "Course Facts".  The changes are indicated herein and a new "Course Facts" will NOT be issued.

First and foremost, the overall objectives, general operation, and methods associated with Unified are not changing.  It is the full intent of the faculty associated with Unified that except for the need to deal with different people in some situations, that you as students will see no change in this important subject of Unified Engineering that you are taking.

DETAILS OF CHANGES:  Professor Darmofal is no longer formally associated with the subject.  He may still participate from time to time, but this will depend upon the demands on his time which are substantial.  Two faculty will work the aspects that Professor Darmofal addressed in Unified.  Professor Mark Drela (Office: 37-475, Phone: 3-0067, E-mail: drela@mit.edu) is stepping in as the primary faculty member working Systems & Labs.  Professor Paul Lagace (contact information in Course Facts) is stepping in as the Course Coordinator.

The Course Coordinator is still the person to go to with respect to issues or questions that may arise during the semester (as noted in the paragraph in Section 3.1 of the "Course Facts").  It is only that Professor Lagace is now this person. 

Because of issues associated with Professor Lagace's schedule, the following expectations are added in regard to reply to requests made to the Course Coordinator:

1.  Try as best you can to plan and anticipate issues and give as much notice as possible concerning special requests.  Emergencies do arise and this is understood, but the more notice that the Unified faculty has concerning special issues and requests, the greater flexibility there is in responding to such requests.

2.  Professor Lagace should be contacted through email, phone call, or via his assistant (Thea Paneth, Phone: 3-2727).  Email is the preferred initial contact except in emergency situations.  Responses should not be expected prior to one business day from the request being made.  During the course of a normal workday, responses may be made earlier depending upon the circumstances of that day.  It is quite unlikely to receive responses over weekends or holidays, or overnight. 

3.  In certain situations (e.g. when he is traveling), Professor Lagace does not respond to email.  In such situations, you will be instructed by automatic email response how to proceed, or another faculty member will handle Course Coordination items during that period.  If the latter, students will be notified of those details.

DONUTS:  Donuts will continue on the day that a problem set is due (generally Wednesday except toward the end of the semester).  Donuts will continue to arrive at 8:30AM in the Unified lecture room.  The Unified faculty member who is giving the lecture at 9AM will be present for "Donuts with......".  Professor Lagace will work to be there as he can, but the realities of his commute complicate this, particularly due to current street conditions due to the snow.

ADDITIONAL TIME TO TALK ABOUT UNIFIED:  Professor Lagace invites all Unified students to express their thoughts to him about Unified Engineering.  Students are welcome to send an email, schedule a meeting, drop by, or whatever they may find convenient.  If demand warrants, Professor Lagace will set up further office time for this express purpose.  It is important to remember that you as students need to begin that exchange process.  All faculty look forward to this feedback.

If anyone has any questions about these changes, do not hesitate to contact any of the faculty or Professor Lagace directly.  From this point on, we look for Unified to move forward as it has all year to date.


                    - for the faculty of Unified Engineering
                     Paul Lagace
                     Course Coordinator